This doesn't evaluate. I don't know why; because it seems quite obvious that it should be exactly the same as the previous case, right? (The constant factor of 1/Sqrt[2] can't change the fact that it is still $\geq 0$). Any thoughts on how to fix this? Of course, in my case I want to actually keep the Max ..., but I don't know the exact form of the other side, so I can't just arbitrarily remove constants ...

...and what happens if you use FullSimplify[] instead?
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Ｊ. Ｍ.Sep 26 '12 at 7:14

Thanks for the Accept, but I encourage all users to wait 24 hours before Accepting as answer so that other users have a chance to read and answer the question before it appears concluded. Quick Accepts may prevent the posting of other, potentially better answers.
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Mr.Wizard♦Sep 26 '12 at 7:20

Thanks @Mr.Wizard; I did try and un-accept yesterday, but for some reason actions on this site occasionally don't work (like voting and commenting.)
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Noon SilkSep 26 '12 at 22:15

@Yves I am not surprised; there is a large element of chance involved in this and I certainly do not mean to imply that //@ is a panacea -- far from it in fact. It only so happens that it produces the needed string of transformations in this case. Search MathGroup for VOISimplify for a good illustration of the order dependence of Simplify that often manifests as apparent capriciousness.
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Mr.Wizard♦Sep 26 '12 at 7:36

4

An insightful statement by Andrzej Kozlowski in that thread: ... there are just too many different groupings and rearrangements that would have to be tried to get to a simpler form. Moreover, Mathematica will only apply a transformation if it immediately leads to a decrease in complexity. Sometimes the only way to transform an expression to a simpler form is by first transforming it to a more complex one ...
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Mr.Wizard♦Sep 26 '12 at 7:40

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